William Haggas is concerned about the possibility of running Maljoom in the Anne Cowley Memorial Summer Mile Stakes at Ascot on Saturday if the ground becomes soft. Maljoom, who has had limited races since a fourth-place finish in the St James’s Palace Stakes two years ago, recently placed third in the Queen Anne.
Haggas believes that Maljoom still has more potential to show as he continues to race, but winning the next race is crucial. Soft ground would pose a challenge in achieving that goal.
Haggas expressed his thoughts, stating, ”I would love to run him, but I don’t want to run him if it’s quite soft. I think there’s rain coming through today and tomorrow and then it is dry for the rest of the week, so we’ll see what Ascot brings.”
“The ground is key, I don’t want to be running on the soft, I’m afraid. He needs to be winning next time, and we need everything in his favour. He was beaten a long way at Ascot, but he’s getting better and that is the most important thing, with each run he’s got better, and he’s getting his confidence back. I don’t think you’ve seen half of it yet. I’d love it to be good to firm, I don’t think it’s going to be that, but if it’s good that will be fine. If he doesn’t run at Ascot, he’ll go to Leopardstown next Thursday (Meld Stakes).”